COURT OF APPEAL
IA Somalia v Sec of State [2007] EWCA Civ 323
An asylum appeal was remitted for a rehearing in circumstances where it could not be said with confidence that the adjudicator would have arrived at the same conclusion as he had if he had taken a relevant country guidance case into account, and where that failure to take it into account amounted to a material error of law.
Asylum Immigration Tribunal
MM (Article 8 - family life - dependency) Zambia [2007] UKAIT 00040
In the context of an in-country appeal, assessment of the facts relating to private and family life within the meaning of Article 8(1) of the ECHR has to be made as at the date of hearing, not the date of decision. However, that assessment is one which has to be made in the round, taking account of past, present and likely future circumstances. The fact that an appellant is economically dependent on adult children whilst in the United Kingdom under immigration conditions which prevent her from working is not determinative of the question of whether she is in a position of real dependency. More info
FK and MK (EEA Regulations: "Descendants": meaning) Sierra Leone [2007] UKAIT 00038
An adoption requires an intention to adopt: mistakenly treating a child as one's own does not amount to adoption. Children not related to the sponsor, and not the subject of adoption, are not his "direct descendants" for the purposes of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 or the underlying Directive. More info
HH (Rule 23: meaning and extent) Iraq [2007] UKAIT 00036
1) Compliance with rule 23(5)(a)(i) is a precondition for a valid s103A application by the respondent. (2) Rule 23 applies to all (and only) appeals in relation to asylum claims. It does not apply to all (or only) determinations of appeals on asylum grounds. More info
BE (Disobedience to orders - landmines) Iran [2007] UKAIT 00035
(1) Generally, and subject to the additional ground identified by Lord Bingham in Sepet and Bulbul, punishment for refusal to obey military orders will amount to persecution only if carrying out the act ordered would make the individual (as distinct from his country) liable to sanctions in international law, or would change his status in international law (eg by excluding him from protection as a refugee.)
(2) Other than by Convention there is no international prohibition on the laying of landmines.
(3) The international law of armed conflict is more extensive and detailed than international law as it applies to situations other than armed conflict, and it cannot be assumed that an act prohibited in armed conflict is also prohibited in peace. More info
SZ (Applicable immigration rules) Bangladesh [2007] UKAIT 00037
There is no general duty on the Tribunal to consider whether a claimant's case if differently presented or if made the subject of a different application might have succeeded on a different basis from that on which the application or claim was made. Although individual claimants cannot be expected to know the Immigration Rules, there can be no complaint if they receive a judgment on the application or claim as they put it. Exceptionally, however, the facts of a case or, in particular, the terms of a notice of decision may require the Tribunal to consider the appeal on a number of alternative bases. More info
EA (Azerbaijan male - Armenian ethnicity - risk) Azerbaijan CG [2007] UKAIT 00032
An Azerbaijan male of Armenian ethnicity who has come to the attention of the authorities in Azerbaijan faces a real risk of persecution. More info
The Immigration (Leave to Remain) (Prescribed Forms and Procedures) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 comes into force on 1st May 2007 More info
